The Blood of Brothers
by Dark Memory
Summary: Rendition of what could have happened if Vergil had slain Dante atop the Temen-ni-gru, leading to his cooperation with Mundus. (One-shot)


The Blood of Brothers

_The Temen-ni-gru stood looming high above the city below. How could Dante ask for a more magnificent headstone? Our goals are just too different, and he will oppose me until the very end. Therefore, I will bring the end to him._

We both drew out our swords in the pouring rain; mother's tears. No one wished it to come to this, but this fight had now grown necessary. They both swung with unyielding force, but in the end, Virgil's skill overcame Dante.

He turned away from his fallen brother. Walking a few steps away, he stopped. He could still feel his brother's spirit clinging to this world. Vergil snapped back and drove his sword deep into Dante.

The blood flowed freely, but when it reached the sword Rebellion, something new was awakened. A power worthy of competition was unleashed. Vergil had expected Arkham to show up as planned, but for some reason he did not make himself present. Perhaps he was being held up by his daughter?

It didn't matter the reason. They were happy for what they were given; a fight. Vergil released his rage from within and transformed into his own demon. Dante followed soon after, with a bellowing scream that echoes through the skies.

Dante was fast, sticking mainly to aerial, acrobatic maneuvers in an effort to dodge Vergil's flurry of attacks. The crimson devil warped around the arena with a blur. Vergil could not land any slash attacks, and he was taking several bullets as well. But after a few minutes of intense clashing, Dante began to exhaust, and he was thrust out of his devil transformation.

Vergil dashed back, creating a fairly large distance between him and his brother, and let loose several small shockwave pulsars. The balls of warped gravity slowed Dante down. Rushing to the exposed target, Vergil went into a series of final attacks; a downward slash, a teleport above Dante, and another downward slash; quickly and repeatedly.

The first three strikes missed. Thefourth hit Dante's left leg. The fifth sliced Dante's chest open. Vergil was only able to muster up a simple "I'm sorry" for his dead kin.

In the hallway leading to the seal to the demonic world, Vergil came across Arkham. The sinister human was gazing at the sight of deceased daughter.

"_Where were you?"_

"Can't you see? I was taking care of some extra business. Are we ready?"

"_I am ready. I alone have earned this."_

Without breaking from his normal stride, Vergil killed Arkham where he stood. His corpse fell in line with his daughter and that is where they remained forever.

Stealing the key to the seal from Arkham, he walked into the room where he would finally be blessed with his father's power. He set all the elements and place, and slit his arm. He watched the blood drip down into the crevasse, and he watched nothing happen. He slit his arm again, more blood forced its way out, yet still everything remained still.

He did not have enough blood to break the seal after his fight with Dante. He could not use Dante's blood for it had run off in the rain down the side of the Temen-ni-gru. And even if he somehow could fulfill this requirement, the secret of the virgin maiden's sacrifice centuries ago was laid to rest with the death of Arkham.

"_After all this… Am I still hopeless?"_

Taking his sword across both his wrists, he decided upon suicide. There was simply nothing let for him. Everything was lost. He lost more and more blood until he lost consciousness. He was sure he would never awaken from the cold floor of the chamber. And that was exactly his intention.

His vision slowly faded to black. Time passed indefinitely for what seemed like years, but was probably only hours. Nausea set in. When would he just die?

After staring into the endless abyss of darkness, something began to manifest before him. A red light; no three, began to burn holes into the darkness his blind eyes had created.

"_What…is this?"_

**"Your quest for your father's power is incomplete… I, Mundus, will help you reclaim your dark heritage…"**

"_I do not trust you for a second. Leave me be; I have no need for your help."_

**"Vergil… you cannot even move, yet you expect to accomplish this on your own?"**

Vergil did not want to accept this offer, but what choice did he have? He could not crawl or even lift his limbs. He was strong-willed against the temptations of Mundus for so very long. When did he finally give in?


End file.
